Thanks, President Obama, for the $3 billion!
Obamacare's $3 billion windfall to insurance customers
Dan Mangan |
Consumers have gained more than $3.25 billion in benefits over two years from a Obamacare rule that financially compels insurers to keep a tight rein on overhead costs relative to the medical claims they pay out, a new report says.
The Commonwealth Fund report issued Tuesday found that even as insurers paid out less in consumer rebates for violating so-called medical loss ratio rule in the second year of the program, they ramped up slashing of administrative and sales costs, without increasing their profit margins.
As a result, consumers paid less than they might have otherwise shelled out for insurance, or received more in medical claims than they would have, the analysis found.
Insurers paid out a total of about $1.5 billion in consumer rebates from 2011 to 2012 for not meeting the medical lost ratio requirement, which sets a strict formula for keeping overhead costs low compared to medical benefits paid out. The rationale for the rule is to ensure that peoples' premium payments be used mostly for actual health-care claims.
In addition to that, insurers reduced overhead by a total of about $1.75 billion in the same time period without increasing their profit margin, the Commonwealth Fund report said.
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http://www.cnbc.com/id/101665134
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It's a windfall for insurance companies, a betrayal of the base, and is inhuman, corporate sell-out bullshit, too.
It must be true, I read it on DU!
